A Japanese man in his late 20s died after falling from a high ridge in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks on Saturday.

The man, who is believed to have travelled extensively around Ireland, was crossing the Coimín na Péiste Ridge – a steep rocky ridge – on the eastern tip of Carrauntoohil with a companion when he fell.

He was not roped, but experienced climbers often traverse the ridge without a rope, according to members of the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team who attended the scene.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor who was also walking on the Reeks and was nearby. The doctor was taken by the coastguard helicopter to the man, as was an advance party of the rescue team called out by the Valentia Coastguard.

The fall occurred between Cnoc na Péiste and The Big Gun at about 2pm.

Conditions on the mountain were dry, windy and clear around the time of the accident, Kerry Mountain Rescue spokesman Damien Courtney said.

Some 25 members of the team brought the deceased by stretcher more than 2,000 feet down to the Hag’s Glen before he was transferred to Kerry General Hospital for a postmortem at about 6.30pm.

Third callout
This was the third callout for Kerry Mountain Rescue in the last fortnight. Last Tuesday a rock-climber was rescued in the Gap of Dunloe following a fall on a rock climb, and the previous week a Polish man was airlifted to Kerry General Hospital after collapsing while walking with his family on Torc Mountain.